The Torah specifies that a Hebrew maidservant does not go free through the loss of "organ prominences" — external body parts like teeth or eyes that, if knocked out by the master, would normally grant a bondsperson immediate freedom. But this rule is stated only about a maidservant. What about a Hebrew bondsman?
The answer comes from (Deuteronomy 15:12): "the Hebrew man or the Hebrew woman." By placing the bondsman and the bondswoman in the same verse, the Torah equates them. Just as the Hebrew maidservant does not go free through loss of organ prominences, the Hebrew bondsman does not go free this way either.
This ruling initially seems puzzling. Why would a Hebrew slave not be freed when maimed by his master? The answer lies in a critical distinction. The freedom-through-injury rule applies specifically to Canaanite bondservants — non-Israelite slaves whose servitude is permanent. For them, losing a tooth or an eye to the master's violence triggers immediate release.
Hebrew bondservants, by contrast, are already on a fixed timeline. They serve six years and go free regardless. They also have other protections and legal rights that Canaanite bondservants lack. The organ-prominence rule was designed for a harsher category of servitude. Applying it to Hebrew bondservants would have been legally redundant and would have confused two distinct systems of law that the Torah deliberately keeps separate.